Different seasons bring different issues, and the severity of your problems changes depending on where you live. Understanding how each season’s weather and temperature can affect your garage system will allow you to extend your garage door’s life.

This guide will walk you through different seasonal garage door problems and how to fix them. Understanding the challenges each season brings and fixing them can reduce garage damage and save you from costly repairs.

Spring Garage Door Care

Spring is the time to clean and prepare for the rest of the year. As one of the more moderate seasons, we recommend garage tune-ups and maintenance checks during this time.

The primary issue homeowners will experience during the spring season is heavy rainfall and water damage, which we’ll cover below.

Rainy Season

Rain is abundant during this season, and it can negatively affect your garage door. Moisture buildup and morning dew can damage internal garage parts. For steel doors, individual sections may become rusted and damaged over many years.

Wooden doors receive the most damage as they soak up rainwater, which leads to warping and rotting, creating openings for external elements to enter your garage. In severe cases, the door may no longer close properly due to the heavy warping. Water also causes wood garage doors to become heavier, keeping the door from lifting in the first place and causing extra strain and potential damage to the garage door opener.

Wood doors are gorgeous but require extra care compared to other doors. The best solutions are to divert and minimize the amount of water that hits the garage door through rain gutters and weatherstripping. The garage weatherstripping keeps the bottom of the door from making direct contact with groundwater, and it also helps keep dirt, dust, rain, and muck from entering your home.

Summer Garage Door Care

The severity of summer weather depends on where you live and how hot it can get in your area. Without proper insulation, garages can become large furnaces and cause damage to electronics stored inside. This includes the garage opener itself.

Heat damage

Not all garage door openers are made equally, and even the best garage opener is susceptible to internal damage if temperatures get high enough.

Consider investing in insulation to keep your garage cooler in the hot summer heat. A higher R-rating means a slower transfer of heat from the outside into the inside of the home. Insulation will help to regulate the temperature in your home and can lead to reduced energy bills. The difference in temperature between the outside and inside the garage can be as high as 20 degrees Fahrenheit.

Safety Sensors

Many homeowners report faulty garage systems and their doors not working during summer. This common issue is often the result of the sun shining light on a safety sensor. With long days and more people opening their garage doors during the summer, reflected sunshine on a sensor could obscure the communication light. If you’re having problems with your garage door not closing during the summer, consider purchasing sensor sun shields.

Fire Season

With the intense heat and strong winds, the risk of wildfires increases during the summer seasons. Wildfires can cause power outages and can render garage openers inoperable. Backup batteries are your best solution to keep your family safe. Because wildfires are common in California, a new law has made battery backups in all homes a requirement (SB-969). This will keep you from getting stuck inside of your garage door during an emergency.

Fall Garage Door Care

Like spring, fall garage door damage is not often a problem in most parts of the country. However, fall is known as hurricane season, and people who live in these areas need to be prepared. Homeowners will begin to experience the first signs of chilly mornings and the occasional rain, but nothing too serious.

Hurricane Season

Areas susceptible to hurricanes should be prepared for the strong winds and find ways to minimize any damage. While the winds themselves won’t cause any direct damage to your door, a strong wind can pick up and hurl objects at the garage door. This can cause dents to the garage door panels, and in some instances, break the entire panel.

Installing reinforcement struts on your garage door will help minimize damage caused by flying debris and may prevent panels from breaking. IF hurricane damage poses a risk to your home, we recommend investing in a wind load garage door. These doors are designed to withstand the intense pressure of strong winds.

Winter Garage Door Care

The winter season brings with it a lot of challenges when trying to care for a garage system. From hail damage to moisture buildup from snow and frozen garage doors, there’s a lot to be on the lookout for.

Freezing Temperatures

As temperatures begin to drop, the metal in your garage system will start to contract. Older garage systems with pre existing cracks and damage may break down as the metal becomes more brittle. Another problem is the ice itself. As ice can develop around cracks, melt on a warmer day, and then freeze again overnight. This causes the ice to expand, making some of the cracks in the garage system worse.

This same problem extends to the weatherstripping of your garage door, as improperly cared-for weatherstripping will crack and break with time. These cracks make it so that the door can become stuck overnight to the pavement, keeping you from operating your door. A damaged bottom seal will also allow cold, dirt, and debris to enter your garage. This could lead to serious problems like being unable to get your car out in an emergency.

Before winter rolls around, consider a maintenance check on your garage system to uncover any underlying problems. Preventative care can help you save money before issues become worse.

Hail Damage

Hail can be a severe problem in certain parts of the country. Damage varies depending on the size of the hail and ranges from minor dents to broken garage panels.

Broken panels can cause weight displacements in the door, and the weight shift can slowly cause the door to become unstable and unbalanced. As weight becomes concentrated on one side, it may come off the garage track and need professional repairs.

Reinforcement struts are a great way to add support to your panels and increase your garage door system’s integrity.

Insulation

Insulation slows down the rate at which heat transfers from the outside to the inside of a home. In the winter, insulation helps to reduce the rate at which heat escapes your home, keeping the garage warm for an extended period. Insulation can help reduce electricity bills by minimizing heat usage or buying a garage heater. The higher the R-value of the insulation, the slower the transfer of heat.

Conclusion

The best and most effective garage door care is maintenance checks and tune-ups. Preventative care will help you uncover any underlying problems with your garage system and will minimize any issues down the line that arise from different seasons. At GDS Garage Door Solutions, we recommend getting a garage door tune-up at least once every year. A professional tune-up involves checking safety sensors, springs, making sure the opener works properly, checks the door hinges and drums, and diagnoses any problems before they get worse. Schedule a tune-up today by calling us at (760) 994-4805 to provide your garage system with the care it needs.